See our hiking and backpacking gear reviews for 2018, with reviews and buyer's guides on top hiking boots, backpacking tents, rain jackets and more.

Going Backpacking – Here is a List of the Essential Items

Packing for going backpacking for a few months is a difficult job. You need to pack enough stuff for the different weathers and climates you are likely to experience but you also know you'll be carrying around the bag with you for a long time so you do not want it to be too heavy.…

Packing for going backpacking for a few months is a difficult job. You need to pack enough stuff for the different weathers and climates you are likely to experience but you also know you'll be carrying around the bag with you for a long time so you do not want it to be too heavy. If you follow these tips this should help you pack for that journey:

Mini toiletries – do not take a 300ml bottle of shampoo, think how much weight that actually is. Make sure that you decant all your toiletries into small bottles, of say 75ml. If you do this with just 4 bottles you'll be saving almost a kilo from your bag. You may think that you'll need that much, which might well be true, but chances are you're going to stay at some places that provide these for you so you can be a bit cheeky and top up your bottles as you go.

Travel Pillow – this was one of those items I considered a bit of a luxury when traveling but I used it pretty much everyday and would definitely recommend taking one. You are likely to be traveling on a range of not so comfy transport and a travel pillow will help you sleep on those journeys. You might also find that the places you stay do not have the greatest luxuries so this will really help.

1 good book – you are likely to have to spend a lot of time waiting for transport so it's essential that you've got something to read while you wait. It's worth getting something that takes a while to read so you do not read it too quickly. At lots of hostels there are places you can swap your book for a different one so keep hold of the book until you can exchange it.